Have you ever wondered how to create delicious specialty coffee drinks just like the ones at your favourite café? Here's a hint: it starts with premium coffee beans.
At Three Coffee, we source our coffee from sustainable farms and small cooperatives across the globe, ensuring our beans brew the best coffee in Dubai.
Today, we'll break down how to craft the perfect iced coffee, just like the ones served at gourmet coffee shops.
Start With the Best Possible Beans
Excellent coffee requires excellent coffee beans. We're proud to be a purveyor of premium roast coffee in Dubai, where we offer our bespoke blends along with hand-sourced single-origin coffees and rare varieties, offered as whole beans and in a range of grinds.
Our coffee beans are sourced from sustainable independent growers around the world before they're roasted by our CQI-certified experts at our Al Quoz facility. This ensures your coffee is always freshly roasted, preserving aroma and taste so your coffee can achieve its true potential in the cup.
Weigh and Grind Your Beans, or Buy Pre-Ground Coffee
To make the perfect iced coffee, true connoisseurs will weigh their beans with a gram scale and grind their coffee with a burr grinder immediately before brewing.
Not everyone has the time or the patience for this, so consider trying premium coffee beans that have already been pre-ground for convenience.
Pre-ground coffees are suited to specific machines and vary in texture from extremely fine and powdery to coarse and gravelly. Select the right grind for your brewing method, whether it be espresso coffee, filter drip coffee, AeroPress, French press, Chemex, or pour-over kettle coffee.
Select a Cold-Brewing Method
Aficionados are loyal to their specialty coffee kit, whether it's a cold-brew device like Toddy or a tower drip rack. Cold-brew machines like these extract flavour from ground coffee beans using room temperature water over a substantial period, usually from 14 to 18 hours.
Cold-brew iced coffee is less acidic than hot-brewed coffee and tastes smoother, too. Because less ice is needed, the flavour will be pure and less watered-down.
...Or Hot-Brew As You Usually Would
Don't worry if you don't have a cold-brew device. Hot-brewing methods will also make a delicious glass of iced coffee. Utilize whichever coffeemaker you would normally use to make hot coffee, such as a French press or drip machine.
If you want your iced coffee to have more flavour, you can adjust the grounds-to-water ratio for a stronger brew, as hot coffee poured over ice can taste water-logged if brewed at regular strength.
If you're making an iced Americano, brew a double shot of the best espresso available.
Prepare Your Ice
If you're using a pour-over cone and filter, brew your coffee directly over a glass of ice to cool it quickly and lock in the flavour.
For other methods, wait to fill your glass with ice until the coffee is nearly finished brewing. This prevents ice from melting too fast in the bottom of your glass and watering down your drink.
Keep in mind that for every ounce of water used to brew the coffee, use half that amount of ice. For example, if you’re brewing 20 ounces of coffee, aim for approximately 10 ounces of ice.
Enjoy it Black
Without sugar, milk, or flavouring agents, black iced coffee allows your coffee's true characteristics to stand out, whether you choose lighter fruity coffee blends or the intense richness of dark roast coffee.
We encourage you to try drinking an iced coffee this way at least once since the unique flavour profiles of Three Coffee's specialty coffee come through best without the added distraction of other tastes.
How You Sweeten Matters
Granulated sugar and sugar cubes take a long time to dissolve in cold liquid and will give your iced coffee a grainy mouthfeel.
For the perfect iced coffee with an even distribution of sweetness, create a simple syrup using equal parts sugar and water, boiled together until the sugar has dissolved. This ensures you don’t end up with heaps of undissolved sugar hiding at the bottom.
Cool this mixture to room temperature then store it in the refrigerator for later use. Also, remember to add simple syrup to your iced coffee by the teaspoon so that you don't over-sweeten it by accident.
Pour in Milk or Cream Before Ice
It's best to add milk to your coffee before, not after, you pour it over ice. This brings down the beverage's temperature, so it melts less ice and preserves more flavour.
You can craft an excellent iced coffee with whole, semi-skimmed, or skimmed milk. Or for a more decadent spin on your drink, try adding in liquid or whipped cream.
Milk Alternatives Work, Too
Made of coconut, almond, cashews, soy, oat or rice, non-dairy milk enhances your iced coffee with a bit of body and a hint of flavour.
It's also possible to sweeten and lighten your iced coffee at the same time with tinned condensed milk, which doesn't require refrigeration until after it's been opened.
Consider Flavor Enhancements
While many coffee lovers tend to be purists about their brew, there's no denying that flavoured syrups make iced coffee feel like a gourmet treat.
Look for premium syrup brands like Monin, which is sold at Carrefour in the UAE. Flavours like vanilla, caramel and hazelnut complement and enhance coffee's natural taste.
Do be aware that flavoured syrup is quite concentrated and can overpower your beverage if you're not careful. Use them sparingly until you find the right balance of flavours and taste your beverage before pouring in any additional sweeteners.
Savour & Enjoy
Finally, take a moment to pause and savour your iced coffee creation.
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